Even if the drug helps, patients struggle to tolerate the irritating side-effects. How do you manage the common complaints about dry mouth and constipation, or other problems like blurred vision and central nervous system side-effects? Leslie Wooldridge, GNP-BC, CUNP, BCIA-PMD, discusses balancing efficacy and side-effects when using OAB drugs and when a 3rd line therapy might supersede the use of medication.

The American Geriatric Society recommends avoiding or using caution before prescribing anticholinergics to elderly patients. For details, check the updated Beers Criteria list for the most up to date information.

Long-Term Impact

Even if your patient’s side-effects are minimal, long term use of anticholinergics – the largest class of drugs used to treat OAB syndrome – is under increased scrutiny. A prospective long-term study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association linked long-term anticholinergic use to higher incidences of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The study showed that 23.2% of the elderly patients taking anticholinergics during a seven year period developed dementia, and a staggering 79.9% of those patients developed Alzheimer’s. The report also notes that the effects may not be reversible after patients stop taking the medication.

Urgent PC is a non-drug, non-surgical alternative

Drugs can be a powerful tool, but sometimes patients need more than one approach to reach their goals. Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS) with Urgent PC is an effective 3rd line treatment for patients who are elderly, refractory to drugs, or uninterested in surgery. And, PTNS with Urgent PC has no severe side-effects in comparison to other OAB treatments. Only 14% of the patients in the Investigational Device Study (IDE) experienced side-effects that were transient and minor.

But is it effective? There are over 50 major studies that demonstrate the proven performance of Urgent PC including one that compares Urgent PC and tolterodine tartrate extended release. Results of the controlled study of 100 patients across the U.S. showed the Subject Global Response Assessment (GRA) was statistically higher for Urgent PC subjects (79.5%) compared to drug subjects (54.8%) with a p value=0.01.

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Blog posts written by Urgent PC providers represent that provider's experience and opinions. Cogentix Medical has not tested nor verified the effectiveness of technical or practical recommendations that deviate from the Instructions for Use.